Following Jesus on the Way

John 14:1-14

There are weeks when I am frustrated by the way the Bible and the lectionary divide scripture. The lectionary is organized so that the Sundays after the resurrection are used to demonstrate Jesus’ power and glory, and to explain why it was necessary for things to happen the way they did. So, today, we look back to the night before the arrest, when Jesus teaches the disciples that there is a future for them, a way for them, as they follow where he has been leading them.

We enter the story in the middle of the last supper Jesus has with the disciples. In the last several verses of chapter 13, we find Peter freaking out about Jesus’ upcoming departure. He is curious, and anxious, and frightened, and determined to be there for Jesus, wherever Jesus goes.

Simon Peter says to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answers, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter says to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answers, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.”

Here we turn the figurative page to chapter 14. In English, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” If we ignore the notation of a new chapter, there is no indication that Jesus is speaking to anyone other than Peter. The Greek singular kardia / “heart”, indicates that Jesus is speaking only to Peter, although other disciples are probably listening to their conversation. “Do not let your heart be troubled! Believe in God, believe also in me.”

Two more disciples ask questions as well. Thomas sounds petulant. He asks, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

And Philip tries to be positive, even while admitting he doesn’t get it. “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus tries to be patient, but he is frustrated, maybe even doubting himself. I think he believed the disciples were more prepared for his death than they seem to be at this moment. Haven’t they learned anything!? Or maybe his own timing was off. Was he making this move too soon?

When I imagine I am one of the disciples, in that room, and listening to Jesus telling us that we have it all wrong, I am freaking out, too. We believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the one to gather forces and return Israel to the glory of the days of King David. Make Israel great again.

But, Jesus is saying stuff that’s quite to the contrary. To be honest, he has said this stuff before, and we ignored it. We, I, believed he would change his mind and come to Jerusalem to start the revolution. But this stuff, this talk about dying, this talk about making a place for us. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t want it to make sense. I’m freaking out, too!

… Jesus tries to calm the disciples down, so he says, “You can trust me just as you trust God. The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father dwells in me and speaks through me. In other words, I am the same as God the Father. As you have seen me, touched me, laughed and cried with me, you also know the Father.”  

Jesus continues, “I go now to prepare a place for you. You can’t follow me there, but I will be back, and take you to where you need to be next. I will continue to show you the way.”

… We often hear this part of Jesus’ message as relating to heaven. Various translations give different images. KJV: In my Father's house are many mansions.  RSV: In my Father’s house are many rooms. NRSV: In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. These interpretations have led us to joke that once we get to heaven, we have to walk quietly past the various doorways, because some people think they are the only ones there.

I certainly don’t want to downplay the image of life after death as being with God, with Jesus. Jesus promised us there is life after we die, that death is not the last word for us. Whether we go to a garden, to a mansion or house with many rooms, or somewhere of our own imagining, we just don’t know. Over his lifetime, Jesus used several very different images to describe life after death. Dante Alighieri and John Milton have given us other images, which seem like they came from the Bible, but are the imaginings of great poets. Let’s remember: Only those who have died truly know what life after death is like. 

… Since Jesus focused so much on helping people understand God as loving, caring, forgiving, he established a way of living on earth. He gave himself as the way to life in relationship with God. When we love, believe, behave, trust God / Jesus as the first disciples did, then we are following in Jesus’ way.

The early believers called themselves “followers of the Way.” The manner in which Jesus lived, loving and accepting Jew and Gentile, friend and stranger, sacrificing himself for the rest of us, is Jesus’ Way.

… Sometimes in our lives we find ourselves freaking out. We receive bad news; a tornado destroys our home, we have cancer, someone we love is dying, we lose our job. We feel like the disciples when Jesus tells them he will be arrested, suffer, and die. We discover we are powerless against some forces.

To this reaction, to our freaking out, Jesus says, follow me, follow me on the way, because I am truly all you need. As Jesus prepared the way for us to follow, he also promised to send the Advocate, Holy Spirit, to be with us, to speak to us on his behalf. But we have to wait three weeks for the official arrival of Holy Spirit in the lectionary.

This week, I hope you will spend some time observing how many times you are following Jesus on the Way, and when you miss opportunities to do so. When we pray the confession, I have way more sins of omission than of commission. Remember that we are baptized, and already forgiven. We don’t dwell on these sins, but attempt to do better the next time.

Amen